Week 8 - Buffalo State Stampede (3-4) vs Kentucky Tech Gryphons (5-2)

The Stampede return home after winning a conference game on the road. With only a few weeks left in the season the Stampede will have to stay hot to be bowl eligible. This week Buffalo State will face conference foe Kentucky Tech in a pivotal primetime matchup. RB Cameron Dickey will look to stay hot this week after putting up 263 yds and 2 TDs last week. The Stampede also announced Drew Allar will be out for the season and will be put on IR.

#FearTheHerd

The Angels handed Kentucky Tech their second loss of the year, increasing our lead on the Southern V to two games. We've also increased our lead on the rest of the continent to two games, as the two other 5-1 teams also lost last week. One of those teams, Southern Colorado, happens to be our opponent for our next game, as we head out to Cortez for the last of three consecutive road games. Two weeks ago, this game was looking like it might be a clash of the last two undefeated teams in the nation, but the Stegos have faltered quite a bit over the last fortnight. That takes some of the intrigue out of this matchup, but it should still be a great game. WR Antonio Williams was solid in his first game back from a hamstring injury, catching 7 of his 8 targets for 85 yards and adding 32 more on 3 rushes. #HadMeAtHalo

Week 9 - Buffalo State Stampede (4-4) at John Island Angels (7-1)

Buffalo State is one of the hottest teams in the AltCAA coming into week 9 on a 3 game winning streak. But to get over .500 they will have to defeat Southern V conference leader the John Island Angels who are a league best 7-1. To have any chance at playoffs this is a must win game for the Stampede. Buffalo state will have to find other players to step up this week as they will be without star running back Cameron Cook. The Stampede will be wearing there new red helmets on the road this week. 

#FearTheHerd

And that's how you break out of a slump. We took down the only undefeated team left in Johns Island on the road, as well as clinching a bowl game and our first season over .500 in the modern era. We need some games to fall our way in order to win the Super West, and that starts with a road contest against Playa. They've hung around the .500 mark all season, and are looking for revenge after a narrow loss against us in week 5. We need our offense to get back to its early-season form, and we've made a number of changes to remedy that. That included senior WR Camden Brown, who was a redzone threat against the Angels last week, catching 3 balls on 5 targets for 48 yards and 2 touchdowns. 

Well then, the playoff picture has cleared up quite a bit after week 9, so with two weeks to go, here's the scoop:

-- Johns Island has clinched the Southern V Conference and will be hosting the Whiskey Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee!

-- St. Brendan's has clinched the East Coast Conference and will be hosting the Heritage Bowl in Washington, DC!

-- Minnesota A&M can only lose the conference to Riel. As they split the season series, Minnesota A&M has one conference game left in Week 10 against Twin Cities. So Minnesota A&M need a win over Twin Cities OR a Riel loss in Week 10 to Michigan Institutional or Week 11 to Twin Cities. If Riel wins out and Minnesota A&M loses to Twin Cities, it will come down to points, which Minnesota A&M holds the slight advantage.

--The Super West Conference is a down to three teams as Ohio A&M is 3 back, and Playa is two back, and the two teams they would need to lose out play each other this week.
==Deschutes/Southern Colorado is huge this week. Deschutes won the first matchup, so a win by them eliminates Southern Colorado, as Southern Colorado would not be able to create a 3 way tie because the Stegos face Hawaii State, the other team that could force a tie in Week 11. This would leave Deschutes 1 up on Hawaii State (assuming Hawaii State beats Ohio A&M this week), meaning Deschutes would need a win over Playa del Rey OR a Hawaii State loss to Southern Colorado in Week 11. If, in this situation, Deschutes loses to Playa del Rey and Hawaii State beats Southern Colorado, then points between Deschutes and Hawaii State will determine the champion. If Hawaii State loses to Ohio A&M in Week 10, Deschutes wins the conference here with that win over Southern Colorado.
==If Southern Colorado wins, then they'll have a game on Deschutes and Hawaii State (assuming Hawaii State beats Ohio A&M) going into Week 11. Southern Colorado then simply needs to beat Hawaii State for the conference title. If Southern Colorado loses to Hawaii State (again assuming Hawaii State beats Ohio A&M), then Deschutes game against Playa del Rey in Week 11 is very important. If Hawaii State wins out and Southern Colorado beats Deschutes, a Playa del Rey win over Deschutes in Week 11 will give the conference title to the points leader between Hawaii State and Southern Colorado. If Deschutes beats Playa del Rey in that situation, then Deschutes, Hawaii State and Southern Colorado will be determined by the three way points leader.

Currently, Hawaii State holds an approximately 175 point lead on Southern Colorado, and about 250 point lead on Deschutes. So the Super West has a mess.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Commonwealth, Hershey, Chicago Tech, Wichita A&M, Lake Country Tech, Ohio A&M, and Twin Cities have all been eliminated from the playoffs. 

Buffalo State, Hallows, Playa del Rey, and St. Laurent are at the point where they MUST win out AND need one of Hawaii State, Riel, or Kentucky Tech to lose out AND hold a points advantage AND get at least one loss from Michigan Institutional to claim a playoff spot.